A Kiss To Remember - Dragon Queen
by KSQ
Summary: Maleficent and Regina share a very intimate conversation based on their past and a relationship that died away. What happens when a shocking confession is made? When Regina discovers that Emma was eavesdropping the entire time, she confronts her and a secret is revealed that stuns both of them! Maleficent/Regina and Emma/Regina pairings.


**A Kiss To Remember **

_**A Once Upon a Time Fanfiction**_

**Type: One Shot**

**Pairing: Regina/Maleficent and Regina/Emma**

**Timeline: Present time in the show**

**Genre: Romance**

xx

Black hair fluttering lightly in the cool night wind. A black gloved hand reaching up to peel stray strands away from a face that was familiar to Emma. So familiar, she lingered near the Pet Store but evidently unseen by the person of interest. Pressing a palm upon the cold red clay brick wall, emerald eyes looked on. Studying. Wondering what was about to occur in the dark night whilst the yellow street lights flickered from the presence of some serious magic in the area.

Things were about to get magical apparently.

Not a soul was in sight. Yesterday's newspapers somehow got snatched by the wind and were dancing across the street. It could appear to an onlooker as a haunting scene from a horror movie. The Diner closed about three hours ago. The hour nearing midnight. A serious chill in the air. And a lonely street that someone could walk down, only to be confronted by a killer that would obviously present some drama for an audience. A snatch. Then the brandishing of a blade that glimmered in the night. Or in this case, as it could possibly be: someone waiting for the arrival of an accomplice, partners in some secretive crime.

Emma stood where she was and held her breath because they had come such a long way already. This person had become more than an acquaintance. More than someone she shared a son with. They had reached a point in their relationship where being friends seemed like such a simple word because it was more complicated than that. To have someone in your life that understood you in ways no one else could. Sharing qualities with you that would be shunned in the eyes of everyone. Even her parents. They could never become comfortable with the fact that magic coursed through their daughter's veins. She was magical.

Or maybe the problem was that magic linked two women together. Two women who were on opposite sides of the coin somehow. A Savior and a reformed Evil Queen. One who reveled in the world depicted on colorful pages. The other braving it through the harshness of a world beyond the book. Both always being forced to come to a compromise because of one person. Their son. Even after such a long time, Emma realized that they never grew apart from each other. Instead, everything that kept on happening brought them closer together.

The click of heels on cold hard concrete.

Someone approaching from behind.

Even from where she stood, the second person to join the scene was identified already. The hat that was worn, fixated upon a head of blonde hair with a distinct style. Not too lopsided, but tilted just enough to give the woman an air of someone who was well bred. Someone who was fashionable and knew exactly how to create a stir. She was the kind of woman who could walk into a room and make men's jaws drop. Other women would envy her posture, so upright and elegant. The fact that she was beautiful beyond a name. A name that was as popular to Emma as the other woman's character from her childhood days.

"I thought you'd never show."

"Maleficent, you underestimate me still." Regina turned to face her friend or foe, emerald eyes searched for answers.

"Oh, no underestimation, dear." Blonde hair danced in the wind. "You always would manage to be fashionably late."

A smile was offered in reply.

"That little stunt you pulled off in the Diner was quite a remarkable one."

Somewhere a cat yowled as the lid of a trashcan clattered to the ground. The silence was shattered with sound.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Regina slipped those gloved hands in the pockets of her black trench coat.

"A bad girl still?" Maleficent smirked. "Really?"

Emma's new friend tilted her head and frowned. "Why the doubt in your eyes? Is that so hard to believe?"

"Oh come on." She was waved off, her statement to be taken as a ridiculous one by the other woman. "I have known you for years, Regina. If you can't remember quite yet, we shared many moments that are still etched in my memory."

Was it the light or was Regina's cheeks turning slightly crimson?

"From the moment you walked into that place, and I took one look at you," Maleficent smiled, "I could tell already that you had grown soft around the edges. Your hair for instance. You're wearing it down."

"I don't see how such a thing could affect me still being a villain."

"A villain you are," the blonde woman took a step forward. The brunette froze up, shoulders straight but stiffened. "But a bad girl you most certainly are not. You've never been as hardcore as everyone imagined. You're such a baby inside, who has done wrong things. Has wronged many people. However, that woman I was acquainted with years ago, she has dissolved into dust."

Lifting her chin, Regina turned to stare elsewhere. Defiant. Always trying to appear in control when Emma knew that she was severely bruised inside. As much as the woman could drive fear in many situations, the own hurt residing in a cracked heart could not be hidden.

"I trapped you with my magic for a reason," her voice was hoarse, eyes never meeting the woman standing there.

"A prison created to encage something you clearly were fearful of."

A hoarse laugh ensued. But it was forced. This time, brown eyes met the blonde's fierce ones. And something passed between them. From this far, Emma could not detect what it was. But she was so certain that as fast as that laughter died away, a curtain was lifted. One that only the two women could see, staring into each other's eyes. Knowing something between a gaze. Something secretive.

"You look even beautiful now as you were when the situation was different." Maleficent could not take those eyes away from brown ones. "Tell me, what is your secret?"

"Why are you here?" Regina asked on a serious note. "Why did he bring you back?"

"You know exactly why Rumple brought me back."

"To unite all the villains?" A gloved hand was waved, brown eyes searching for more answers. "To enact some kind of destructive plan on all the heroes? I refuse to believe that his motives only lie in the aim to hand out happy endings to those who were given the title of being obnoxiously villainous."

"From what I've heard. And seen…" Maleficent's voice was lower this time, just about two feet of distance separating them, "it's apparent that you've had chances to both redeem yourself and snatch chances of having slices of happiness."

"Dear, you have no idea what my life has been like," Regina sounded clearly affected, her voice wavering, "so I suggest that you refrain from passing any judgments."

"Robin Hood isn't worth your time."

Emma held her breath. Even from across a street she could feel the air change between the two women. The brunette clearly was caught by her friend's words. Bold words. A statement that completely mortified the blonde who was eavesdropping because she couldn't understand how Maleficent could know such a thing. Having been around less than a week, how could news like that circulate on such short notice: that Regina had been dating Robin Hood? And why would she utter such a statement?

"Stop it," Regina said.

Emma's heart felt a slice of pain because of the very same feeling detected in the brunette's voice.

Maleficent stared. "Dear, you are only trying to fool yourself. You always have been. For years I stood and watched you battle the truth. Clearly you have been killing yourself inside by believing that you desire anything else other than the touch of a –"

"This is where you need to stop," a finger was pointed at Maleficent and she did. "You have no right whatsoever to continue because whether you wish to accept it or not. This is my life –"

"Regina –"

"This is not about you anymore. This is not about us. Or the past," the brunette continued without stopping, her voice trembling. "There was never an us to begin with. It was a mistake."

Emma froze up, eyes wide. Slowly but surely the words being said were processed. Whether the conclusion drawn was the truth, she had no idea.

"Two years was a mistake?" It was Maleficent's turn to have her voice waver from emotion. She took a step closer and Regina stepped back, lips parted. "Regina, how can you say that to me? Trapping me in my most hideous state was enough to make me hate you forever. But I understand the reason why that was done. You brought me here for a reason. Didn't you?"

"I brought you here because I couldn't kill you." Folding her arms couldn't come across as Regina being composed in this scene. No way. Emma knew more now to gather a fair estimation of what was going on. She just needed a little more to be confessed. "I couldn't kill you because we were…" she swallowed. "As you were, I owed you a large debt. Therefore I took it upon myself to give you another chance."

"You loved me." Maleficent's words were uttered softly, almost like a lover's touch unto someone's heart. A caress.

Not a reply was given. Instead, Regina turned away. Facing the other way, she sucked in air through her teeth. Eyes fluttering close, face lifted to the sky, it would seem as if the encounter was so unbearable, composure was hard to maintain. She was falling apart.

"Regina –"

"Leave me alone, Maleficent," the blonde was urged.

"He brought me back for his own purposes. But he knows exactly what this means. That the stains of the past cannot be removed. What happened between us was tragic. But I can't forget it. From the moment you walked into that place," she waved behind her with a graceful hand, "my heart skipped several beats. Because I immediately remembered your face as always, smiling back at me. You were there, always there. And there was no one else. For neither of us, there was no one else but ourselves."

Emma was shaking in her boots. Shaking her hands out, fingers were trembling as well.

"Just before you cast that curse, are you aware of the hurt you caused me?"

"You deserved it," Regina hissed, her tone bitter as she spun around to face the woman standing there. "You deserved all the punishment that was given because of the pain inflicted on me."

"I loved him."

Brown eyes blinked rapidly, clouded with tears now. Resting her head upon the wall, emerald eyes filled with tears too. She couldn't understand how this was occurring. To discover that the woman she had known for so long could be hiding such a dark secret, it was more than enough to help Emma find so much more. It was exactly what was needed.

"You broke my heart," Regina croaked.

"And you got your revenge," Maleficent whispered. "I lost my child when you cast your curse. So…" a finger was raised to wipe tearful eyes, "we're even now."

"Snow told me."

"Oh Snow told you!" Gloved hands clapped upon her upper thighs and the blonde spun around, staring at the sky in disbelief. "How grand! How grand it must be to hear of such joyous news. You managed to snatch the one thing away from me that meant something. All of my days I spent by wishing for a miracle to happen. And when it finally did, out of all the people in the world, you were the one who took the responsibility. To end it all."

"If you honestly believe that I cast that curse to hurt you –"

"Well you did!" Maleficent stepped forward. Regina held her ground. "You did the most selfish thing anyone could ever do! I told you not to cast that curse! I told you to find some other way, to deal with your problems in another light. Instead you crushed everyone's lives just because you couldn't be happy. And why? Because you couldn't be yourself! All you wanted," they were so close now, "was to be yourself. Why couldn't you just accept it?"

Accept what? Emma was confused.

"Why the façade when it comes to Robin Hood? Why the sudden urge to fling yourself at a man who clearly cannot make you happy?"

"He does make me happy and that's none of your business", Regina said, her voice so hoarse, Emma had to strain her ears. "What I do with my life is none of your business. Who I love should mean nothing to you. That was proven years ago when you walked out on what we had, using me as an experiment. A toy that you grew bored of, casting me away in a corner to move onto the next shiny armored man."

"I couldn't be with someone who wanted me to be her biggest secret," Maleficent said.

"Well forgive me for being entirely afraid of everyone's reaction."

"They already wanted your head on a stick, I don't see what the difference would have been."

"I had moral standards."

"Yeah, your father used to take you to church when you were a teenager. When you were sneaking off with that stable boy. Believing that you could fool yourself into loving a man. Don't even bring religion into the picture because you're far from a saint."

"I'm not talking about religion. I'm talking about being with someone who wanted an open relationship that involved orgies." Regina blinked away tears. "I actually wanted something special. Now you wouldn't believe that because of the way I reigned as Queen. But when my life narrowed down to love, yes, I've always wanted something romantic. Something intimate and passionate. Something private."

"And that's what he gave you?" Maleficent laughed. "Rumple told me about the back from the dead dilemma."

"This conversation is over," Regina snapped. "This was a waste of my time to begin with. Good bye."

"I want to talk about you and the Charmings."

Regina was already walking away.

"I want to talk about the Savior."

Heels clicked upon the pavement. Emma couldn't breathe. She held unto the concrete wall until her fingertips began to sting. Regina's pace slackened. Emma was wondering why she didn't just poof herself away. It was almost as if she wanted to be followed, to be asked more.

"She's a chess piece in Rumple's plan, did you know that?"

Emerald eyes focused on clenched fists, shoulders hunched. Her black trench coat fluttering around knee high ankle boots.

"She's going to be manipulated and used. And pushed until she snaps. And when she snaps, then her capabilities will be used for our purpose. To make us stronger. He's going to seek out the darkness in her and twist it until she becomes demented."

"No he isn't.

At first Emma couldn't determine if Regina had spoken. Her voice sounded so different.

"Yes he is."

"No one will harm Emma." Leaning upon the wall, weak in the knees, emerald eyes softened. "She's my responsibility therefore I will not tolerate any harm done to her."

"So you've really gone soft, haven't you?" Maleficent smirked. "Protecting the Charmings' daughter. The one you separated from her parents initially. You feel obligated, owing her a debt. Is that it?"

"If anyone harms her, I'll kill them," Regina said, glaring at the blonde. "Mark my words. If you try to engage yourself in a scheme to destroy Emma, I will not hesitate in finishing you off once and for all. And trust me, this time there will be no chances given."

"Touche," Maleficent pressed a gloved hand to her breast, eyes wide. "My, my, have you become a love sick puppy."

"You can return to your friends and tell them that yes, I will be willing to aid in all villains being granted a happy ending. But I will not tolerate any games played that involves endangering the lives of those I care about."

"Emma's…life," Maleficent said, staring at the brunette.

"Yes."

"Why so protective over the Savior?" with squinted eyes, the other woman's face was searched.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Regina smirked.

"Something has changed you." The wind was growing harsher now, whipping their hair into a frenzy. Coats flapping. "Your desperate search to find a way back to Robin. There's a flicker of fear in your eyes that is such a familiar look."

"The only thing flickering in my eyes right now is the burning fire building up to sizzle you from the inside," Regina sassed.

"You're hiding something. Dear friend, as you would find it hard to address me after our past," eyes widened, "you're in love. It would seem as if the famous prophecy uttered by a demented Rumple before you enacted the curse, those words had more meaning than we bargained for."

"What are you talking about?"

Emma could see even from afar that Regina was bluffing. She knew exactly what was being said.

"The Savior will be the one to end the curse, cast by the Evil Queen. She will be the Queen's undoing," Maleficent chanted, staring hard at the brunette. "Everything comes into the light now. But it's not as if I had plenty of time to think after the curse because I was a dragon with breathing problems."

"What the hell are you up to, Maleficent?" Regina asked.

"Why are you lying to me?" the blonde asked, "dear, have you forgotten? You cannot lie to me."

"Why don't you quit whilst you're ahead," Regina snapped.

"Why don't you stop wasting time on Robin and pursue Emma?" Maleficent bravely declared.

At first the owner of the hiding emerald eyes couldn't process the meaning of those words. She thought it was a joke, simple and some form of a blunt blow to the woman she had known for over a year now. But when the look in Regina's eyes changed from fiery to filled with shock, when her lips parted and silence ensued. Emma stopped breathing immediately. It was happening again.

"Stop this right now," Regina croaked.

"No, you stop it!" Maleficent cried, sounding frustrated. "Stop this, Regina. Stop lying to yourself and accept the truth."

"Carry on with your ploy, scheming with the others to get what you want," the brunette was ignoring the previous declaration. She waved a hand in the other direction, "go your way and I'll go mine."

"Why don't you stop running away from your fears and face them?" Maleficent shot as Regina turned her back. "Why can't you accept what you truly feel inside?"

"Because I can't!" the brunette's voice rang out in the silence, startling Emma. Brown eyes were wide, fists clenched. "I can't accept what I feel inside! Stop harassing me. Jesus." She was shaking. Holding up her hands, emerald eyes noticed how they shook. "I should kill you now. I should just finish you off right here."

"Just because I know the truth?"

"Because you remind me of what I cannot have," Regina croaked.

"Maybe for once in your life, if you were truly honest with your feelings, if you truly accepted who you are, then good things will come your way." Maleficent braved it. She took a step forward and placed a hand on Regina's left shoulder. The brunette twitched. "Villains don't get a chance to live long enough. That is why you should tell her how you feel. Especially with Rumple's new plan to turn her inside out, bring out the darkness, then your love could possibly make the biggest difference."

"You're a babbling lunatic," Regina said, shaking her head.

"And you loved this lunatic with every beat of your heart before." Maleficent's tone was softer now.

She stepped forward, and even before Regina could register what was to come, her shoulders were taken. Emma watched as their lips met and she couldn't believe if it was a delusion or real. Eyes fluttered close, shoulders slackened, no rigidity. They kissed softly and it was the blonde who stepped away first, leaving the brunette to taste the ghost of the woman's lips still, lingering on hers a little longer.

"Take care, my love," Maleficent said with a smile. "Good luck for what's to come. We work best when we work together. But I find that if you could just accept yourself, maybe, just maybe…" she stepped away, "you've be the first villain to really have a happy ending."

And she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Emma watched Regina stared at the empty spot for more than a minute. She looked severely broken in the soft light from the streetlamp, the moon's ray cascading unto the street. Just for a moment, her gloved hand was lifted. Two trembling fingers pressed upon parted lips, red stained. And the brunette's chest heaved. Turning on the spot, she glanced down the street as if seeking out something or someone. Then when brown eyes were focused on where Emma was, she quickly pressed her back unto the wall. Breath held, her chest felt like a freezer, heart coming to a standstill.

There was the click of heels, and she couldn't determine which direction was taken. Inching her way further away from the corner, Emma squeezed her eyes shut and felt desperately for the corner of the building. But there was none thus far. She eventually felt the brick wall come to an end. And turned into an alleyway that didn't stretch far. By the time she was standing there, frozen, staring ahead at the dead end, the clicking of heels came to a stop behind her.

She could feel her before everything else. Above the caress of the wind, Emma could literally feel those brown eyes upon her back. It was the most shocking thing of all because one would attach a particular statement here. One could possibly say, and her eyes bore into the back of my neck. That kind of description. But it was anything but that. Instead what Emma felt was a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach, and a heat that covered the area. The coolness of the wind was replaced with a passionate glare that felt like the sun's direct ray. Burning up her skin instantaneously, she couldn't muster up the strength to take one deep breath.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Regina demanded from behind.

Emma turned around, her knees jelly weak. "I was…just…" she stared, "…taking a walk when I saw you standing there."

The brunette stood with her hands hanging limp.

"And I wondered what you were doing there. If you were in some kind of danger. So naturally, I stayed."

"Since when do you have any right to keep tabs on my whereabouts, Miss Swan?"

"The moment I felt as you were lying to me," Emma shot back without skipping a beat. The brunette's eyes widened a bit but she checked herself and returned to resuming composure. "And obviously you were. We had an agreement. For you to go undercover. Instead you're straying off the plan to meet an old…friend."

"How long were you standing there?"

"Since the beginning."

"So naturally, you were able to hear everything that was said."

Emma searched Regina's face because it was shocking that the brunette didn't appear severely angered. Instead she stared back at the woman in front of her with a calmness that unnerved the owner of those pair of wide emerald eyes.

"I heard enough," Emma said. "Like I figured, just when I thought we were friends and I trusted you, you lied to me."

"I don't see how my involvement with Maleficent could hinder our relationship," Regina's eyes were lowered, she was gesticulating with her hands. "My personal life. I have every right to withhold anything I see fit –"

"Relationship." Emma interrupted and brown eyes lifted to stare at her. "Friends have a friendship."

"That they do," Regina said. She blinked once, stayed silent.

"What are you trying to say to me?"

"That we're friends."

"Are we?" Emma asked, the wind curling around them. She stared back and felt her heart sink lower. "What Maleficent said –"

"You eavesdropped on a private conversation."

"You were having a freaking private conversation in the middle of the street?" Emerald eyes were wide. "Anyone…" she waved a hand, "could have heard you two. It so happens that that person was me. It isn't my fault that I happened to hear every word said."

"What do you want from me, Miss Swan?" Regina folded her arms, avoiding eye contact.

"I want you to stop with the formality firstly because it's ridiculous," Emma returned smartly, her throat aching. "Secondly, I'd like to know the truth."

"The truth about what?" her voice was unsteady, that much Emma detected. Nothing could be read from her eyes.

"Robin." Emma took a step forward and Regina stepped back. It was so sudden, both of them stared at each other with wide eyes.

"What about Robin?"

The blonde blinked, suddenly realizing that she had really underestimated this encounter. "Do you really love him?"

"Of course I love him." Regina said defensively, "what a ridiculous question."

"You're not happy."

"Let me be the judge of that," the brunette said sternly, "don't interfere in my private life again, Emma. All you do is cause me pain."

"I never meant it, I haven't done it often."

"Yes you have," Regina returned without skipping a beat. "You have made my life a living hell from the moment you entered this town. Trying to hurt me in every way you can."

"Unintentionally," Emma replied, keeping a close study on the face staring back at her. "I have never intended to hurt you. We've moved past Henry, we've moved past my parents and me being the one who broke your curse. But it seems as if you're still coloring me as a destructive person even though I'm trying hard here to be your friend."

"Every single second you're in my life," Regina croaked, hugging herself, "I'm pushed farther away from ever having a happy ending."

"That's not my fault."

"And the more you try to offer assistance in helping me find a happy ending, the more I am reminded that you're a new curse. A punishment."

"Why don't you stop blaming everyone else and own up to the fact that you're the one to blame?" Emma said harshly, "you heard Maleficent, you're selfish enough to only care about making yourself look good, killing your own freaking heart in the process. All because you can't accept the blinding truth."

"You think you know me so well."

"I know enough." Emma folded her arms. "I know that you're a stubborn woman who would rather lie to herself than to take a risk. Because you're so afraid."

"What are you trying to do to me?" Regina asked hoarsely, a tear trailing down her cheek. Emma stepped back, completely affected by the reaction put forward.

"I'm living my life the easy way because facing the truth is harder."

"So you would rather stab me repeatedly with your ignorance, sentencing my heart to an eternity of pain." The brunette's fists were shaking. "Just as she did."

"I never said that."

"You knew all along from day one that what I feel for you is different than anything else."

Emma stared back at her with a confused look. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't stand there and pretend as if you have no idea what I'm talking about," Regina said. "You're quite aware of the situation, even before our trip to Neverland. I told you exactly how I felt about you." The brunette stared back with a look of shock when Emma clearly pretended to be dubious. "Then it is obvious there was a purposeful glitch In your memory."

"I remember us having a conversation," Emma clenched her fists, staring hard, "where you actually believed that I'd believe a word that was said about your feelings for me. Telling me that you cared more than a friend, that you actually saw me in a different light."

Regina breathed out a sigh of relief. "So you do remember."

"You never treated anything between us as a friendship to begin with!" the blonde stepped forward, severely affected, "how the hell was I supposed to believe a freaking word you told me?"

Regina stared back at her with wide eyes. "You thought that everything I confessed was a lie?"

"To ridicule me, and make me look like an idiot if I actually believed it for one second –"

"I poured out my heart to you!" Regina croaked, stepping closer without fearing how close they were. "Everything I said was genuinely felt, and we could never be friends before or ever…" she flung her hands up in fatigue, "because I will never cast my eyes upon you as a close acquaintance. My heart feels so much more for you, it's a tragedy that obviously will unfold as every day passes."

"Regina –"

"And the bitter part is, you're quite aware of how affected I am when it comes to your actions. Yet you blatantly act out as if deliberately intending to hurt me." Brown eyes were wide, and her throat ached so much, she just wanted to disappear.

"I'm sorry if you believe that I'm always setting things up to hurt you," Emma said softly, "but I swear, I don't do that. Like I said, if something happened that might appear as if I'm out to get you, it's unintentional."

"And by unintentional you're referring to your fling with the pirate and your passionate motivation behind driving me to Robin."

Emma shrugged. "I just want to see you happy. That's what I promised, isn't it?"

"Why are you doing this to me, Emma?" brown eyes blinked away tears that blurred her vision.

"I'm not doing anything to you." Emerald eyes diverted to stare at a wall the color of grass. "I'm not doing anything but trying to make you happy. That's all I've been doing. I've been pushing Henry to spend more time with you, helping you find the author of the book. All because it's in your best interest. Robin means a lot to you."

"But you mean so much more," Regina said.

"Stop saying that, please." Emma squeezed her eyes shut, lips pressed together. "You can't honestly believe that. So stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Stop telling me all the right things. You're not allowed to do that. This isn't right at all."

"Why is it wrong?" Regina stepped closer and Emma couldn't realize that a few inches separated them now because her eyes were still close.

"Because I'm not like that, okay?" The heels of her hands pressed upon a pale forehead. Blonde hair danced in the wind that howled around the buildings. "I'm not…like you. I mean I'm everything like you otherwise. Magic and a painful past. Losing someone dear, sharing a son. But when it comes to what you want from me, I can't share that feeling."

"Why?" Regina made an attempt to reach out, her gloved fingers hovering above Emma's folded arms as if touching her intimately. "Is it because you can't or you wouldn't?"

"Don't use that crap on me. It makes no freaking sense when people ask that." Emerald eyes fluttered open. When the brunette's nearness was realized, those same eyes blinked fast, her chest heaving.

"You can't…means that your feelings can never be the same as mine," Regina began to explain. "You wouldn't…that means there is nothing else in the world you'd wish for other than me. Your feelings are the same as mine. Being with Hook is a façade. Just as I am living a lie by holding unto Robin. And you are attracted to me as I am bewitched by how beautiful you are. But you refuse to return my affections because of fear or some other reason that I am sure we can work past."

"How the hell can you work past that?" Emma asked hoarsely.

"Then you wouldn't is the most appropriate."

"I never said that. But even if I wanted this, it could never work. Because it's too complicated to even consider a chance with you above everyone else. Every single thing that happens in this world puts us on opposite sides of the coin. Look at what's happening now. You're acting as a villain again and I'm the one your team wants to destroy. How the hell am I supposed to even see a possibility of ever being with you when we're always like this?" Emma's eyes were filled with tears now. "Love isn't easy but what you're holding unto is probably the most difficult form of love ever. It's not like one of us is dying or cursed. But the fact still remains that no matter what, there will always come a time when we have to sit on opposing teams."

Regina couldn't contain her feelings anymore. All composure was diminished when Emma uttered those words because she was definitely aware of the true façade the blonde was hiding behind. The feeling she was captivated by was mutual. One could tell from how strained those words were. So simple but deep enough to draw out the truth, that Emma was pondering on them having a chance. She had actually considered it.

Closing the distance between them, Emma's upper arms were taken. Because she was wearing a long sleeved red jersey, Regina's gloves could not be felt upon her skin. But it was enough to create a tremendous effect to be touched. To be touched and gazed at as if the entire world could be seen in her eyes. Somehow the woman gazing back at her was seeing something that melted those brown eyes and left her breathless. And eventually, Emma was becoming breathless herself.

"If we both believe in this then it will work," Regina whispered as if someone was listening to them.

"Why do you believe that?"

"Because when we work together, it is then when our best is put forward. You're quite aware of how powerful we are together."

"But this is different, Regina," Emma's voice was strained, "we're not talking about zapping a villain here. We're talking about love, romance, being together as lov -  
And then she caught herself. Eyes growing wide, she blinked fast enough, believing that those words had not been spoken out loud.

Regina stared at her with parted lips.

The wind howled now like a wounded animal. A soft drizzle began, pressing tiny kisses unto their faces. Yesterday's papers were loitering behind Regina upon the street, the pages billowing and littering everywhere.

"How am I supposed to accept the way I feel about someone like you?" cupped fingers trembled as she lifted a hand and caressed Regina's right cheek. "You're asking me to take a big risk that will not have easy results."

"Why couldn't you have approached me before?" Regina asked, blinking back tears, "from the moment you came back into Storybrooke from New York?"

"Because I thought you hated me after what I said to you on the ship."

"You were harsh to me." Regina's heart stung from the memory.

"I told you that you're ridiculous to believe someone like me could ever love or believe someone like you."

"You called me a villain," the brunette stared up into Emma's eyes and gasped, her heart racing. "You told me that even if you were gay, that I'd be the last person you would ever fall in love with."

"I lied," Emma croaked.

"How could you say that to me?" Regina cried, her chest suddenly heaving as she choked on sobs. "How could you say something like that to me? My heart was broken. I entered Neverland with such hatred directed at you. But it wasn't there for long because we worked together. We had one mission. And as we always keep working together, Emma, I am constantly aware of my feelings for you."

"I'm so sorry."

"Then you're constantly toying with Hook in front of me. Blatantly squeezing my heart with your nearness to him."

"How are we going to deal with Robin and Killian?" Emma asked, staring at Regina as if her eyes had all the answers. "Everyone knows about us and them already."

"What do you want us to do?"

It was so hard for Emma to ask, but she did. "If I ask you to give me some time to handle everything else, especially what the heck is going on right now with your friends, will you hate me for it?"

"I don't think I will ever hate you after this moment," Regina confessed, "I don't think I ever hated you in any moment. My heart was bruised. But I never stopped loving you."

"Then let's deal with this dilemma and still stay close?" Emma took Regina's hands into hers and squeezed. "I want to stay close to you. Please. I need you close because that's when I feel safe and stable. Stronger. If we can do this whilst working things out, then whatever happens, at least we both know the truth. And the truth on my side is that…" she pulled Regina close, their bodies pressed together. The impact was enough to leave them breathless as they gazed at one another. "The truth is that I'm in love with you."

"Will you still be in love with me when I transition into the Evil Queen further from tomorrow?" hopeful eyes gazed back at emerald ones. "When I whip out the dark magic and fool those idiots? Because I'm doing this for you. I don't want you to change into the woman I was."

"I don't think I ever will once you're there with me," Emma said.

Leaning down, hesitantly of course, Emma asked silently with her eyes for a kiss. It was given to her without hesitation as Regina's eyes fluttered close. With their hands wrapped around each other, the blonde's fingers running through dark hair, they kissed deeply. Lips parted to welcome something that was entirely new but mind blowing as one tasted wine and the other tasted coffee. The gloved hands that rubbed Emma's back grew warm from the heat radiating from the one woman she had grown to love so much more. And with their foreheads pressed together eventually, both of them smiled.

"Wherever this life takes us," Emma said, nudging their noses together, "whatever happens, just know that there is this obnoxious Charming who will always have you in her heart."

"I'd kill for a hope speech right now," Regina joked.

"Well here's one. I'm sorry that I lied to you. I lied because…I was scared and unsure. But things happen and people change. You always need to hang unto hope. And if it's one thing I've learnt from my parents is that if you love someone and they love you, then you will always find a way back to each other."

"Nicely put," the brunette kissed Emma's nose. "Who would have believed that you being in the wrong place at the right time would make this happen?"

"Faith put me there," she said.

"Now I will have to thank my ex-girlfriend for that confrontation." Shaking her head, Emma pressed a kiss unto her forehead.

"I knew there was a reason you brought her back here. Two years huh?" Emma smiled.

"A wild romance that ended tragically. Now I will have to pay somehow for everything she lost because of me. Truly I blamed myself for everything that occurred. I really have blamed myself for everything that has happened whether directly or indirectly connected to me. But somehow amidst it all, there's one thing that keeps me from reverting to my old ways, believing that I am hopeless."

Emma inhaled deeply, their eyes connected. "Me."

"You always have faith in me. And that has made me love you even more."

And they hugged.

**A/N – Short, I know. Based on how long my usual stories are. But it was an idea that sparked in my mind. So I had to pen it down and publish. Just to hear what you have to say of course, I always write because of my passion to do that. However, I always hope that there will be someone who reads this and feels inspired. Let me know how this has touched you.**


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